{
  "major": "Area Studies",
  "slug": "area-studies",
  "field": "Social Sciences & Humanities",
  "as_of": "2026",
  "url": "https://collegeranked.com/best-area-studies-schools/",
  "source": "U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2026 release); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics",
  "metric_definitions": {
    "median_earnings": "Median earnings one year after graduation (Scorecard)",
    "net_price": "Average annual cost of attendance after grant aid. For PUBLIC schools this reflects IN-STATE cost; out-of-state students pay more.",
    "roi_10yr_usd": "Ten years of earnings minus four years of net price",
    "public": "true = public university (net_price is in-state basis); false = private (residency-neutral)"
  },
  "total_colleges_with_reported_data": 66,
  "shown": 25,
  "ranking": [
    {
      "rank": 1,
      "school": "University of California-Berkeley",
      "state": "CA",
      "median_earnings": 50728,
      "net_price": 13481,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 453356,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 2,
      "school": "William & Mary",
      "state": "VA",
      "median_earnings": 53779,
      "net_price": 19096,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 461406,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 3,
      "school": "Yale University",
      "state": "CT",
      "median_earnings": 55618,
      "net_price": 23777,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 461072,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 4,
      "school": "University of Washington-Tacoma Campus",
      "state": "WA",
      "median_earnings": 43668,
      "net_price": 10163,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 396028,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 5,
      "school": "Dartmouth College",
      "state": "NH",
      "median_earnings": 48565,
      "net_price": 29519,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 367574,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 6,
      "school": "University of Washington-Bothell Campus",
      "state": "WA",
      "median_earnings": 43668,
      "net_price": 12319,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 387404,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 7,
      "school": "Williams College",
      "state": "MA",
      "median_earnings": 38595,
      "net_price": 17716,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 315086,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 8,
      "school": "University of Washington-Seattle Campus",
      "state": "WA",
      "median_earnings": 43668,
      "net_price": 14091,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 380316,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 9,
      "school": "Columbia University in the City of New York",
      "state": "NY",
      "median_earnings": 41479,
      "net_price": 21590,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 328430,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 10,
      "school": "Brigham Young University",
      "state": "UT",
      "median_earnings": 37019,
      "net_price": 15564,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 307934,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 11,
      "school": "Nevada State University",
      "state": "NV",
      "median_earnings": 54607,
      "net_price": 14068,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 489798,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 12,
      "school": "Cornell University",
      "state": "NY",
      "median_earnings": 43831,
      "net_price": 28690,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 323550,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 13,
      "school": "University of Missouri-Columbia",
      "state": "MO",
      "median_earnings": 44096,
      "net_price": 20268,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 359888,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 14,
      "school": "Wellesley College",
      "state": "MA",
      "median_earnings": 43231,
      "net_price": 25496,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 330326,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 15,
      "school": "Miami University-Oxford",
      "state": "OH",
      "median_earnings": 50637,
      "net_price": 28384,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 392834,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 16,
      "school": "Bowdoin College",
      "state": "ME",
      "median_earnings": 45315,
      "net_price": 14398,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 395558,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 17,
      "school": "Emory University",
      "state": "GA",
      "median_earnings": 33549,
      "net_price": 22585,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 245150,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 18,
      "school": "University of Maryland Global Campus",
      "state": "MD",
      "median_earnings": 48650,
      "net_price": 22063,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 398248,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 19,
      "school": "Colby College",
      "state": "ME",
      "median_earnings": 45686,
      "net_price": 17180,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 388140,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 20,
      "school": "University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill",
      "state": "NC",
      "median_earnings": 31955,
      "net_price": 11655,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 272930,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 21,
      "school": "California State University-Fullerton",
      "state": "CA",
      "median_earnings": 29316,
      "net_price": 6555,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 266940,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 22,
      "school": "Amherst College",
      "state": "MA",
      "median_earnings": 49149,
      "net_price": 23367,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 398022,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 23,
      "school": "Brown University",
      "state": "RI",
      "median_earnings": 39165,
      "net_price": 25184,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 290914,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 24,
      "school": "Fordham University",
      "state": "NY",
      "median_earnings": 40811,
      "net_price": 44338,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 230758,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 25,
      "school": "University of Michigan-Ann Arbor",
      "state": "MI",
      "median_earnings": 28261,
      "net_price": 13138,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 230058,
      "public": true
    }
  ]
}